I Walked With You
by Mizilee
Summary: A retelling of the classic game, with more content and characters! Squall Leonhart becomes the unwitting hero of a world torn asunder by political discourse and an enemy hopping through time. It'll take the support of his fellow SeeDs and the power they all hold in order to bring order to the world they know before it simply becomes no more.
1. Prologue: The Instructor and Her Student

**Author Introduction:**

Hello there! So, this story….is basically a re-write of Final Fantasy VIII. As a young girl gamer, I played FF8 after my sister finished it and while I loved it forwards and backwards, I was never particularly fond of how quickly the game moved into the ending, nor was I a huge fan of the rushed nature of Squall and Rinoa's relationship. It was going at a normal pace, and then Disc 3 hit and it shot into hyperdrive and I was confused and not liking it. I'm older now, so I've gotten over that...but when I was younger, I still came up with an OC to replace her in my mind.

Over the years, what started as a slightly petty attempt at me replacing the female protagonist of the game and reworking the story to match my tastes, turned in a **MASSIVE RE-WRITE OF FINAL FANTASY 8'S ENTIRE UNIVERSE** that incorporated elements of other games in the series. The end result (or the mid result, really, as I stopped and started writing this over many years) was what I called a 're-scripted' story involving new characters, backstories for the Guardian Forces, and just...a whole world of things I can't put into this preface.

This is not a Squinoa story. They will not get together. If you're not a fan of that, then click away now. This story explores a deeper, modified version of FF8 universe (that ironically does not have a name? Like FF10 had Spira, FF7 had Gaia, but FF8's world has NO NAME) and an OC that has changed and evolved over the course of many years. If you like creative liberty and the idea of Guardian Forces having life and personality, this is definitely the story for you!

 **Read at 3/4 or 1/2 width with slightly increased line spacing for optimal viewing! I also recommend listening to 'Balamb Garden' from the FF8 Soundtrack to get even more immersed ;)**

* * *

 **Prologue: The Instructor and Her Students**

"Training with Seifer? This is not going to end well, and you know it. Squall-Squall!"

Boot heels clicked against smooth, white marble tile as the young instructor quickly followed her student moving ahead of her with long strides. Her comment elicited no response from him, and he barely acknowledged her existence.

"You and Seifer have had a very…" Words had to be chosen carefully, and she allowed herself a moment's pause to find them, "...heated relationship over the years. You're not stupid, Squall, you _**know**_ Seifer will go in there with the intent to really hurt you."

The ground level of Balamb Garden consisted of a circular path that wrapped around a central elevator, and branching off this path where different corridors that led to one of the school's many facilities. It was down one of these branching paths, the one that lead to the school's Training Center, that Squall made a sharp right turn and continued on his way without so much as a single word to his instructor.

An exasperated sigh escaped her as she came to a halt, seeing no point in continuing to follow her stubborn student, "Just don't kill each other!" She called after him, "And try not to end up in the infirmary."

Squall disappeared into the Training Center, and it was all she could do to not let out a loud and unprofessional groan of frustration. Lifting a gloved hand to her face, she pinched the space between her brows and sighed gently instead. Moments like these were what reminded Quistis Trepe of a very true, but difficult to swallow fact: her students were grown people who could do as they please. So long as they weren't breaking any school bylaws, her power over them and their actions was limited outside of the classroom. If one of her students wanted to spar out a ten year old rivalry with another of her students, she had no place in it, nor did she have power to stop it.

After giving one last, slightly desperate look down the corridor, Quistis admitted defeat and prayed to Hyne her confrontational students wouldn't end the afternoon incapacitated in the infirmary. Turning on her heel, she made her way back down the curving path and took a right once she hit the center most area, up the stairs and into the waiting elevator.

"Instructor Trepe! Hold the elevator!"

Before her mind even caught up to the request, Quistis extended her arm so it would block the doors from sliding shut before the student calling out to her reached the top of the steps.

"Thank you." She let out an exhausted sort of sigh, slouching against the elevator wall as the doors shut.

A small smile crept over the blonde instructor's features and she pressed '2' on the number pad. Within seconds, the elevator was making it's ascent to the Garden's second level, a smaller circular path lined with classrooms and offices.

"You look downright exhausted, Ana. I thought you were better trained than this-out of breath after a quick jog."

Quistis's brand of sarcasm was accepted by few. Analei Crescent was one of those students. Sucking her teeth lightly, it was all she could to keep her eyes from rolling backwards out of her head.

"No comment." She said simply, fingers running through onyx colored locks of wavy hair, "I wanted to talk to you before class."

"Well, you found me. And now I can't escape you."

Feigning offense, Analei placed her hand on her chest, jaw dropping and a dramatic gasp leaving her, "I'm hurt, Instructor."

The first chuckle, the first genuine laugh of the day escaped Quistis's lips; her head tilted back a bit and her eyes closed, "What did you want to talk about, Ana?" She questioned as she regained her composure.

"The Pre-Exam...the Pre-Exam I have not yet taken because the Fire Cavern has been closed off for the past weekend."

"Ana!" Quistis snapped, dragging out the latter 'a' in her name. To which Analei found herself averting her gaze entirely, "You should have been pre-emptive about it. The Pre-Exam has been up and running for months and it only closed down this past weekend. Why didn't you attempt to do it sooner? It's nothing to do with your father is it?"

As far as personnel within the Garden went, Quistis was without a doubt one of the nosiest and most personable. Always trying to learn more about her students and get closer to them—this likely had to do with her age. At eighteen years old, Quistis was the youngest faculty member, and because the students she worked with were seventeen and eighteen, there was a part of her that still felt the desire to be social with them on a non-professional way. Like they were on the same level as here. She knew this wasn't true, but old habits die hard. This habit of her's manifested itself in the form of Quistis prying a bit further into Analei's relationship with her Galbadia Garden Instructor father than the student would have liked.

"It's nothing like that."

Quistis sighed lightly, "So then, it was your paintings holding you up?"

"Am I not allowed to have hobbies outside of mercilessly beating my fellow students within an inch of their life?"

Quistis shook her head, "I don't understand." The elevator came to the stop and the doors slid oepn. Teacher and student walked side by side down the hall to the classroom, "What brought you to Balamb if your priorities are elsewhere? You could have lived in an artsy town like Dollet where the Card painter lives."

The student laughed, "There's no money in art these days." There was a hint of bitterness and sadness in her tone, "And my priorities are not elsewhere. My mother was a Galbadian soldier, and my father is an instructor at Galbadia Garden. Military life is in my blood."

The classroom door opened automatically when they approached, and the lights flickered on row by row until the whole room was lit. Instructor Trepe sat down at her desk and pressed the power button on her desktop computer. As the device whirred to life, Analei crossed her arms over her chest and glanced around, gaze resting on the rows of student desks opposite Instructor Trepe. They were all connected, forcing students to sit on what was essentially a long metal bench, and each desk had it's own computer, accessible by students with their individual log ins. Many hours were spent studying in this room over the course of many years.

"Analei." Quistis spoke in a firm tone used by instructors all over the school. That firm sort of tone that automatically made a student listen, regardless of the instructor's age or status. Analei was no exception to this ingrain reaction. The student looked back promptly.

"Yes?

"Do you want to be a SeeD? Is that really what you want to do with your life?"

Analei scoffed a little and scratched her head, tipping her hat back and incidentally off her head. It was a straw hat, white in color with a long piece of black satin wrapped around it. It was rare to see the woman without it, but it was less than combat worthy, and so she was careful to remove it whenever needed.

"Woah, umm…" She turned and bent down to collect her fallen hat, "I do! Yes, I do." She said as she settled back down into her seat and replaced her hat, "I wouldn't be here if I didn't want to be."

Quistis nodded in agreement, then laced her fingers together in front of her, "Yes but, pressure from an outside force or figure could-"

Analei let out a sigh, "With all due respect, Instructor, If there was a concern with my life choices, then we could have spoken about it earlier. It's a little late now. I'm meant to be a SeeD. I'm meant to fight, be the mercenary this school taught me to be, and use my abilities and my skills to help the world. I wouldn't trade that up for anything."

Quistis couldn't help but smile. It was a slightly bitter one, as her heart yearned to know what really caused a spirit such as Analei to take on the life of a soldier. It wasn't a lifestyle suited for all - such was not to say she was a weak link in the chain of cadets. Her personality simply contradicted a bit with what Quistis believed a SeeD Cadet to be like.

Analei was a quiet student. Not in an anti-social way, but in a laid back and casual manner. Not many things bothered her and while she was always in her head spinning ideas for this and that, she was always completely able to come back to the real world when needed. She didn't make a point of talking a lot, but when she did, it was always with knowledge and passion. And sometimes a little sarcasm, as evidenced through this whole exchange. She had an honesty and sincerity about her that Quistis greatly admired. And a trait...a something about her that she feared would be lost once she was truly swept up in the life of a SeeD

Of course, she would never speak a word of this. She had to uphold a certain image and have a firm hand as an instructor at Balamb Garden, a quality the Headmaster and many other instructors seemed to think she lacked. And maybe, just maybe, she was being presumptuous. And maybe, just maybe, she was completely and utterly wrong about her student.

It would certainly not be the first time.

"So long as you're sure." She sighed in defeat, for the second time today, "Alright...Pre-Exam."

With Analei peering over her shoulder, Quistis navigated the school's website until she reached the administrative area. After logging into her instructor's account, she checked on the status of the Fire Cavern for the Pre-Exam. In bright red letters, the status said 'Ready'

"Oh-it must''ve gone back up earlier today…" Analei scanned the page, "Or maybe the other day?"

"There is a warning though…"

Below the status, bright red letters continued on to read:

 _*Warning: Garden Personnel have reported an unidentified creature within the Fire Cavern. All students taking the exam to qualify for this week's set of SeeD Exams are to go in pairs and be accompanied by an Instructor. No solo testing will be permitted. If the unidentified beast is encountered, retreat and schedule for alternate evaluation within the Training Center._

"That's not even remotely terrifying." Analei murmured to herself, standing upright behind her instructor's chair.

Quistis clicked away from the page, "Well-Squall hasn't taken it either yet. After class, I'll take you guys out to complete it. Otherwise you'll be stuck waiting another week to take your formal SeeD exam."

"Sounds like a plan."

* * *

For anyone who was curious, Ana's name is pronounced an-a-lay. Like 'ant', not like 'anna' from Frozen.

But yeah, there we go! First chapter. If it was to wordy or anything, let me know - this was basically a big establishing shot to get a glimpse of who we'll be following for most of the story. And I guess I focused a lot on Analei because she's a new character - Hope you guys keep up with it! I'm excited to share all the wonderful, fun, modified concepts I came up with and developed over the years with you all.


	2. Chapter 1: A Quick Debriefing

**Author Note:**

I was genuinely concerned about the quality of this story, but the reviews have helped me feel much better about it. I try not to be the person to write for reviews, but I'd be lying if I said they didn't mean something to me. OC stories and game novelizations aren't the most popular genre of fanfiction, so kind words are comforting. Reviews in general are, really.

Also, I got a private message about something, and I decided to address the concern here since it's a valid question and I guess I didn't make it clear in the author's note for the other chapter: Rinoa is still in the story. She hasn't been deleted completely, as the story couldn't progress without her. And that's all I'm going to say on it.

 **Read at 3/4 or 1/2 width with slightly increased line spacing for optimal viewing. For this chapter, I once again recommend listening to 'Balamb Garden' from the FF8 soundtrack while reading. Lil' bit of immersion. This chapter is a relatively lengthy 3000+ words.**

* * *

 **01: A Quick Debriefing**

"My head hurts…"

There was a soft chuckle, scratching of pen on paper, and then a woman was bending down a bit to inspect the slowly opening gaze of the injured cadet.

"I'd be surprised if it didn't. Say your name for me."

Doctor Kadowaki was a portly, bespectacled woman with black hair slicked into a tight bun. Firm, but caring, towards her patients, and a habit of looking over her glasses instead of through them.

"Squall Leonhart."

The fact that Squall recognized this habit of her's was a sign that he was in her office more often than he should be. The past few weeks had been a vicious, unending cycle of training sessions and infirmary visits caused by the aggressive style of training that took place when Seifer Almsay was Squall's sparring partner. Both parties took the encounter much more seriously than need be, even Squall knew that much. But Seifer's smugness...his insults and unrelenting taunts...they were utterly infuriating. Squall was far too easily swept up into it. It was a flaw of his he wished he could be rid of, and one that only seemed to affect him when his blade was in hand and Seifer stood opposite him, gloved fingers challenging him to come forward.

"Well your eyes seem to be focusing. You've got your own name down-no other signs of concussion. I'd say your head is okay. Unfortunately that injury of yours is going to leave a permanent mark on your face."

Squall touched his face, wincing slightly as his touch met a fresh, still tender scar, and he sighed, "Great."

"Lay back down. I'll call Instructor Trepe in here to come get you. Sure she'll be pleased to hear that you're in here. Again."

Doctor Kadowaki stepped out of the small enclosure of a room, separated from the rest of the office only by a green curtain, and picked up the phone on her desk. From the bed, Squall could overhear her speaking when Quistis did finally pick up. He only caught a few words: 'injury' and 'scar' and 'not careful'. Resigned to the fact that he wasn't going to hear the end of this from his instructor, he laid back down and covered his face with his arm, a sigh escaping him as he allowed his eyes to close and attempted, to the best of his ability, to will away his head ache.

Soon, the faint sound of footsteps met his ears, and he sensed someone's presence nearby. Logic told him it must be Doctor Kadowaki, and so he remained still, but listened in the event she had something to say.

"So we meet again."

That was not her voice. Squall looked to the side to see his visitor, but she had turned and was on her way before Squall had the chance to examine her face closely. From behind, all he ws able to make out was shoulder-length brown hair meeting the straps of a green shirt over a white skirt. Over her arms was a woven shawl of sorts. Squall leaned up a bit more, confused, and then she stopped at the curtain and turned to glance back at him, carefully watching him with chocolate brown eyes. Her head tilted to the side, a gentle smile gracing even gentler features, and then she left.

"Alright, Instructor Trepe is on her way." Doctor Kadowaki stepped back into the enclosure, hands on her hips. She glanced back at the woman's retreating figure as she left the infirmary office, "Was that a friend of yours?"

"I didn't recognize her."

"She snuck in when I was on the phone. So long as she didn't bother you, suppose it's alright."

With a light shrug, the doctor returned to her desk, once again leaving Squall to his own devices. The wait was quiet, and Squall spent the time floating around in his own head, wondering about the SeeD Exam, about Seifer, about the girl in the infirmary, and a number of other things that had been plaguing him lately. After a while, however, he was yanked from his thoughts by the sound of light, but meaningful footsteps coming into his little room. He recognized them at once, and sat up to meet Quistis gaze, which read just how thoroughly tired she was of this errand that was retrieving him from the infirmary.

"I knew It'd be either you or Seifer." She said, "What did I say? No infirmary trips."

Squall let out a sigh and got out of the bed, standing a moment by the side of it to readjust to the sensation of solid ground beneath his feet, "I couldn't just back down."

"Of course not. Let's get going. Class is going to start soon."

Student and Instructor walked side by side out of the infirmary and into the hall leading out to the school's first floor. The walk was quiet before Quistis started up a conversation, as she always did with Squall.

"Something on your mind, Squall?"

"Not really."

He let out an annoyed sigh when he heard the instructor say the statement in unison with him. _If you knew what I was going to say, why ask at all?_ This kind of exchange was a regular thing between the two, and was yet another example of a young instructor wanting so badly to be invested in the lives of her students. Unlike Ana, who was more inclined to amuse Quistis's overt desires, Squall was much more closed off and much more unwilling to let her in. She was the teacher, and he the student. Yet somehow, be it through years of observation and interaction or just plain intuition, she managed to have a decent idea of what Squall was thinking and what he might say, how he might respond.

"What's so funny?" He questioned when he realized his instructor had paused and was laughing a bit of a distance behind him.

She shook her head as she caught up, "It's nothing, really. Just...today has been a good day for me. I feel like I'm getting to know my student—or my students I should say—better."

"There's more to me than you think."

"Then tell me. Tell me about yourself. Tell me about this 'more to you' so I'm not in the dark. Instructors thrive on the relationships they hold with their students."

Squall shook his head, "It's none of your—"

"Business?"

His expression caused Quistis to break out in yet another fit of giggles. Squall let out an exasperated sigh, wondering why he even bothered to ask in the first place, "Just forget it."

"Fine. Fine. I'll leave you be. On to class."

* * *

"Everyone, find your seats. This will just be a quick debriefing as I know many of you have to prepare for the SeeD exam."

As she found her seat, Quistis watched as students shuffled into theirs. Among them, Seifer, who sat on the end cap of the row closest to the back of the room. One arm rested at his side, his other rested on the console in front of him, and he cast an unfocused gaze to the front of the class. In the row ahead of him, but sitting closer to the other end of the bench was Analei, leaned back in her seat with her legs crossed in front of her beneath the desk, foot tapping absentmindedly. Squall was the last to find his seat, and as he moved down the center aisle, Analei's gaze moved up to meet his. For a moment, it looked as though she went to smile, but the expression shifted immediately to that of mild concern and confusion as Squall moved past and sat in the row behind her. Immediately, Analei turned around. If her lips had moved to speak, Quistis couldn't see it from her position, but she did see Analei point to her forehead, mirroring the spot on Squall's head that sported his new scar. In response, Squall shook his head slightly, dismissively, and Analei turned back around, looking slightly perturbed.

 _My students…_

"Alright, today's schedule." Quistis projected her voice a bit, letting it ring out through the classroom and grabbing the attention of her students, "The SeeD field exam will be taking place later this afternoon. Shuttles are currently being prepared and we're making final adjustments to the team set ups, as well as solidifying our information feed from the exam site. Those of you not participating, or those of you who failed the written exam will stay in here for study hall. Those of you who are participating will have free time until then. You're to meet in the hall at 1600 where I will announce the teams. Any questions?"

No one raised a hand; Quistis nodded, "Very well. Oh and Seifer?"

The mentioned student looked up and Quistis trained her gaze on him, directly at those green eyes separated by a scar that matched his former sparring partner's, "Please exercise some self-restraint during training sessions. Do NOT injure your partner." She crossed her arms over her chest, "You've been trained well enough to know that you could kill someone. Be careful from now on."

His brow twitched, impatience evident in his expression as sucked his teeth and put both hands on the back of his head. With a short breath, he leaned his head back, closing his eyes and waiting for the class to be over, seemingly disregarding his instructor's comment entirely.

Quistis sighed, "Well. That's all - Field exam participants I will see you all later. Squall, Analei I need to talk to you both."

As the rest of the class filtered out of the room, Quistis looked on as Squall and Analei stood from their seats, and fell into a natural step beside each other.

"You got too serious with Seifer, didn't you? Points to him for not taking your head off…"

"He might've…"

"I'm both glad and surprised he didn't. I guess he knows _literal_ decapitation would get him in a bit more trouble than usual."

Via fate or sheer chance, the number of times Squall and Analei had ended up as partners on various training missions over the years was uncanny. And whether they realized it or not, some form of a relationship had formed between them because of it. And Quistis had found herself pondering this fact more often than she had any right to as she watched it develop from afar, because it seemed so odd to her that Squall would allow any such bond to form when he was so reluctant towards conversing with his own instructor

The relationship showed itself in little ways. Simple little actions such as walking next to each other, or them voluntarily choosing to sit in the same seats (one right in front of the other) all the time, or him not utterly ignoring her when she seemed curious about his scar. Was it nothing more than a professional relationship? A closeness that came naturally from having seen combat together and recognizing each other's abilities? The unspoken agreement that one must cooperate at least somewhat with teammates and co-cadets in order to be successful?

Perhaps she was thinking about it to much. Looking to deeply for clues and inklings that didn't exist. Quistis sighed gently. She was much to nosy.

"Squall, you haven't taken the Pre-Exam yet, correct?" Said the Instructor when the two reached her desk.

The male student shook his head, "No. I was going to earlier, but Seifer..."

He fell quiet. Quistis nodded and moved her glasses up off her nose, "Yes your... _training session_ ". There was such frustration in her tone. Her eyes lifted to meet the scar hidden behind a mess of brown bangs, "Fortunately for you, Analei hasn't taken it either due to the site being closed for a bit and the guidelines have been updated to say that students may not test alone. We have specific instructions to make sure students go in pairs, accompanied by an instructor, and to retreat if this...unidentified creature makes an appearance. But hopefully, you'll prove yourself enough to qualify for the SeeD exam in the short amount of time we have."

A smile graced her features and she clapped her hands on her desk, then stood to her feet and pushed her chair in.

"Let's meet at the Front Gate in, say, twenty minutes? That should give you a little time to prepare."

There was no visual response or acknowledgement from Squall, but Analei nodded. Quistis cast one final look over her two students, some odd mix of pride and concern washing over her before she let out a breath and left the room.

Analei turned her gaze onto her quiet partner, "I need to go get my gear before we go to the gate. Do you mind waiting a bit?"

"I'll just meet you at the gate with Instructor Trepe."

Analei gave a small wave with two fingers, "Alright. See you then."

And with both the women gone, Squall was left to his own thoughts and devices, a decidedly familiar, but dangerous combination. As of the past few weeks, the young man had been in his head much more than usual as discontent and worry waged war against common sense and calmness in his mind. Unfortunately, worry was winning out. And that was due to the fact that worry had an additional force fighting on it's behalf.

"I believe she's near again."

The voice was gentle and familiar, but considering how often Squall had heard this very voice saying this very thing over and over several times, it was less comforting than it would normally be.

"How many times are you going to say that? She's near, but she's still not back."

"Because she will not simply _**come**_ back. You have to _**bring**_ her back."

A short, impatient breath escaped him and he turned his gaze to the right of him. Settled on Quistis's desk, with long legs crossed one over the other was a young woman. Pale skin and long dark locks of hair fell and covered most of her kimono-clad front, but even with so much of it loose, much of it was tied back with a light blue ribbon. Her eyes, dark blue eyes - icy and cold, unfeeling at first glance, but after so many years of seeing them, they were familiar and maternal in a way that could only develop in someone who'd watched the man in front of him grow over a number of years. She was small in height, at least relative to Squall's stature, and the oddest, most unnatural feature of her entire strange appearance was the simple fact that she, like any other Spirit, was slightly translucent.

"Shiva...I've looked over the entire school, I've been to Balamb, to the Fire Cavern. I've looked non-stop ever since she left, and all you can come up with is 'She's near'. Saying that over and over is useless."

Another sigh from her. Squall was all to used to it at this point. It wasn't an easy thing, having a Guardian Force. Over the many years of research and study that had gone into their existence and power, the ability to posses a Guardian Force had been played up as an honor. And no matter who came forth to say otherwise, the general public would only look on with admiration. 'Oh, they must be so strong to hold one in them!'

No one but the Garden personnel talked about the fact that each Guardian Force could manifest themselves in a talkative Spirit form whenever they so pleased. Did it create a chance for individuals to form truly deep relationships with their Guardian Forces? To build strength and compatibility? Yes. Of course it did. But _oh_ how irritating it could be for Squall when his Guardian Force bombarded him with vague statements and well-meaning, but frustrating lectures.

No one liked to talk about the memory loss effects of having one, either. No one liked to talk about the tether that was formed in the heart when a Guardian Force chose a Summoner. And certainly, no one mentioned how much it hurt for the tether to break, how deep a fracture it left in someone when their Guardian Force went missing. It was an indescribable pain, really. One that Squall had been forced to live with for much to long now.

"To many Guardian Forces are suffering. Many of them are being taken, trapped in...creatures, devices, other people. It's..."

Squall averted his gaze, "...none of my concern. I can only find my GFs. I can't find everyone else's."

Shiva shook her head, "I wasn't saying you should. Though...I wonder if you can guess what is wandering around in that Fire Cavern, so angry and dangerous it could not be subdued by your Garden's personnel..."

Squall's brow furrowed a moment, and he turned his gaze back to meet his Guardian Force's eyes, lips parted to speak only to see she'd faded away. A sigh escaped him, Shiva's slightly cryptic comment lingering in his mind a moment until it occurred to him what she must've meant. _That's annoying..._ And he left the classroom.

As he made his way down the hallway to the elevator he was brought to a halt when a short brunette bumped into him and tumbled onto the floor.

"Oh! Ow Ow…Oh gosh." She said and carefully got to her feet, "I'm sorry. I was in a rush…um, did you just...did you just come out of that class?" She asked to which Squall did not initially answer, "Is…homeroom over?"

When he nodded, the girl let out a groan and hung her head dejectedly, "I got so lost! This place is way bigger than my old Garden." Suddenly, she looked up and grabbed Squall by the arm, "Hey, do you think you could show me around? So I don't get lost again?"

He wasn't particularly interested in guiding the girl around the campus. And more to the point, he didn't quite have time to do so, even if he felt so inclined to be helpful.

"I have to get going…"

"But…please? It won't take that long will it? I really can't afford to be lost all the time here!

Squall sighed and pulled his arm away from her, "I'll show you the Directory downstairs."

She beamed, "Thank-you! Oh my gosh, thank you so much! I'm Selphie by the way. Thank you so much, let's go!"

* * *

I promise the next chapter will actually have some action in it. Namely the pre-exam! In case it wasn't obvious, the Guardian Forces for this story are heavily inspired by Final Fantasy X. The fact that that game made Summons human really resonated with me. I loved it, and so I adapted it for this story. Let me know your thoughts!


End file.
